L3901 Battery keeps dying

capnchuk · May 4, 2020

I have a L3901 with about 100 hours on it. It sits for a week or 2 between uses. Always starts right up. Lately, I have been having a battery issue. After mowing for a couple hours, it won't restart (standard dead/low battery noises when key is turned) and has to be jumped. Last week, it even died while using it and had to be jumped. No warning lights. pulled the battery and had it checked at 2 different shops. put a multimeter on the battery an alternator and seem to be getting good juice. Tightened the belt. Problem still there. if its a loose ground, any guess as to where?

Tornado · May 4, 2020

So the battery checked out as being fine? Its wierd to me that at one point you mention it wouldn't start, but with a jump it started. If it was an issue with the wiring, I wouldn't expect a jump to change anything. Have you tried poking around with a multi meter? Died while it was actually in use also seems really really odd. Sure the alternator is good? Il lbe curious to hear what the issue is here, keep us updated. Im sure some experts will post here, I am certainly not one

BigG · May 4, 2020

Do you store it under cover? Follow the ground wire to its attachment place to the frame and remove the bolt and clean the contact area. You can not look at it and say it is good. Also check the ground cable to see if there is any corrosion showing. If so replace the cable.

capnchuk · May 4, 2020

BigG said:
Do you store it under cover? Follow the ground wire to its attachment place to the frame and remove the bolt and clean the contact area. You can not look at it and say it is good. Also check the ground cable to see if there is any corrosion showing. If so replace the cable.

It is stored under a carport. Just to be clear, are you saying the ground from the battery to the frame or a different spot?

dochsml · May 4, 2020

Why did you take it to two shops? Did you not trust the first? Checking the battery with a multi meter for voltage will tell you what the voltage is under no load. If you can leave your multi meter connected while trying to crank it, what does the voltage do? A good battery should have ~12.6V under no load. The voltage may normally drop to ~10V while cranking, but if it is much lower the battery is shot or is not fully charged. I agree with previous poster that if jumping gets you started, it's probably not wiring unless your attaching your negative somewhere other than the negative on the tractor battery (ie: frame?) What kind of battery is it? Lead acid batteries don't take a beating as well as AGM batteries. Anything I have that doesn't stay on paved surfaces gets an AGM battery.

capnchuk · May 4, 2020

dochsml said:
Why did you take it to two shops? Did you not trust the first? Checking the battery with a multi meter for voltage will tell you what the voltage is under no load. If you can leave your multi meter connected while trying to crank it, what does the voltage do? A good battery should have ~12.6V under no load. The voltage may normally drop to ~10V while cranking, but if it is much lower the battery is shot or is not fully charged. I agree with previous poster that if jumping gets you started, it's probably not wiring unless your attaching your negative somewhere other than the negative on the tractor battery (ie: frame?) What kind of battery is it? Lead acid batteries don't take a beating as well as AGM batteries. Anything I have that doesn't stay on paved surfaces gets an AGM battery.

It's the factory battery. Still shows green on its indicator. I had pulled it thinking it was the problem. Auto parts store tested it as ok. I went by the dealer to ask his thoughts. Had him retest battery just to be sure. His advise was useless. (he felt the fact it would start when jumped was "a coincidence" and that it was a fuel issue.)

Battery showing ~12.5ish w/o load.

dochsml · May 4, 2020

capnchuk said:
It's the factory battery. Still shows green on its indicator. I had pulled it thinking it was the problem. Auto parts store tested it as ok. I went by the dealer to ask his thoughts. Had him retest battery just to be sure. His advise was useless. (he felt the fact it would start when jumped was "a coincidence" and that it was a fuel issue.)

Battery showing ~12.5ish w/o load.

Did the auto place check it with a multi meter or a load tester? The little green window just indicates charge (usually on only one of the cells) by means of electrolyte level (mostly useless if the other plates broke). It just means the battery was most likely fully charged whenever the damage to the other plate(s) happened. Take a brand new lead acid battery and put it in a paint shaker for a few seconds and you will get the same results. You should check it under load while trying to crank to be sure, but this is my guess from the information given.

capnchuk · May 4, 2020

dochsml said:
Did the auto place check it with a multi meter or a load tester? The little green window just indicates charge (usually on only one of the cells) by means of electrolyte level (mostly useless if the other plates broke). It just means the battery was most likely fully charged whenever the damage to the other plate(s) happened. Take a brand new lead acid battery and put it in a paint shaker for a few seconds and you will get the same results. You should check it under load while trying to crank to be sure, but this is my guess from the information given.

auto parts shop and Dealer both load tested

dochsml · May 4, 2020

capnchuk said:
auto parts shop and Dealer both load tested

You will have to post some more details. Does it crank it all with this battery? Can you check the voltage while cranking? What are you jumping it with that seems to work? Where are you connecting the cables? The more details you can give, the more likely I'll be able to help.

SidecarFlip · May 4, 2020

Just get a new one, starting batteries are cheap. Not a life changing experience.

capnchuk · May 4, 2020

SidecarFlip said:
Just get a new one, starting batteries are cheap. Not a life changing experience.

why would a new battery fix the problem given that the current one is fine, both with a load test and using the multimeter?

Jim L. · May 4, 2020

auto parts shop and Dealer both load tested

I would think that the next thing is to check if the battery is being charged. At rest, it should be about 13 volts. When starting, it should drop to about 10 volts. When charging, should see about 14 volts at battery.

Common things with charging would be electric termination connections and belt. Check at charger output for 14 volts or higher.

Alternator is not getting enough mechanical power; power not being delivered because of bad connection; or problem with alternator/dc converter.

BigG · May 4, 2020

Trace the cable from the battery to the grounding point and make sure the ground is good. Take it apart and clean it. When you took the battery out did you clean the terminals and the posts with a wire brush.

In the post you said you were mowing and it stopped running. Did you shut it down or did it stop by itself? And then you had problems starting it. Why does the dealer think it was a fuel issue?

rademamj1 · May 4, 2020

Purchase a multimeter for testing the battery. Visually check and then clean all contacts before using multimeter. Check voltage before starting: range should be 12.8 -13.1 volts. Then check voltage during starting: range should be 10.0 - 10.5 volts. You will need a second person to start tractor while you read the voltage. After starting tractor, battery should be charging from alternator with a range of 13.5 - 14.2 volts. If your below 10.0 volts during starting. Your battery is very weak and either needs lots of charging or full replacement. Most importantly, after starting and just running the engine, if your battery reads a voltage less than 13.5 volts, you probably have a bad connection to alternator or even a bad alternator.

I assume you told the dealer representative the battery needed a jump start, so why did he say its a fuel issue.

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GreensvilleJay · May 5, 2020

this...
After mowing for a couple hours, it won't restart (standard dead/low battery noises when key is turned
...
to me , indicates the alternator is NOT charging the battery. It should have topped up the battery in less than 2 hours. too bad there's no ammeter to SEE what's happening. A voltmeter across the battery will only tell what the voltage is, NOT the actual AMPS going into/out of the battery.
Since the battery passed two load tests, it's probably OK.
Alternator can fail several ways. Sense dioded shorts, produce light drain on battery 24/7, regultor failure..no charge at all, power diode fails..less amps to battery.
Check the wiring diagram and see if there's a fuse or fusable link between alternator and battery.You need the correct diagram to properly 'see' the flow of electrons.

Jay

KHW59 · May 5, 2020

capnchuk said:
I have a L3901 with about 100 hours on it. It sits for a week or 2 between uses. Always starts right up. Lately, I have been having a battery issue. After mowing for a couple hours, it won't restart (standard dead/low battery noises when key is turned) and has to be jumped. Last week, it even died while using it and had to be jumped. No warning lights. pulled the battery and had it checked at 2 different shops. put a multimeter on the battery an alternator and seem to be getting good juice. Tightened the belt. Problem still there. if its a loose ground, any guess as to where?

Sounds famiilar. Check this to see if it happened to you.

https://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46069

MuttCat · May 5, 2020

I've been down this path. Loose single wire connection between alternator and starter. Could not tell by looking. Connector was not fully seated. Sometimes it would start and then finally not at all.

I too bought a new battery and that was a 130 mistake.

Yooper · May 5, 2020

What MuttCat said. Classic case of a bad connection somewhere that heats up with use. Feel by hand or use an infrared thermometer to track it down.

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L3901 Battery keeps dying

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